An ongoing collaboration between ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University and EDME, a leading supplier of malted ingredients, has seen Food Science and Nutrition students research and develop a range of clean label bakery products.
The undergraduate students were tasked with exploring how EDME’s different malt flours could enhance flavour, texture, and performance across a range of baked goods. From pizza dough to bread and muffins, the teams of two students were each allocated a different product, and they used ZERO2FIVE’s state of the art bakery facilities to carry out their research.
After months of recipe development, the students presented their findings to representatives from EDME who chose a winning project. Matteo Monacelli and Rebecca Jones were named the winners with their project looking at the impact of different malt flours on pizza dough quality and functionality.
Matteo, a pizza chef and certified instructor from the highly regarded Accademia Pizzaioli, was able to bring his many years of experience to the table when it came to developing dough recipes.
Speaking about his success, Matteo said:
“It was a fantastic experience investigating different malt flours in pizza bases as part of my food science degree. A huge thank you goes to EDME Ingredients for this amazing recognition and invaluable opportunity. I’m also incredibly grateful to my lecturers and the ZERO2FIVE team for their guidance and support throughout this project.”
Rebecca Jones, said:
“It was a privilege working alongside EDME Ingredients and it offered an insightful stepping stone into the food industry.”
This year’s EDME research challenge follows on from last year’s collaboration, which saw students develop reduced sugar cocoa replacements using malt flour. The winning student recipe was so impressive that it was launched to market by EDME.
Gavin Mulligan, Product and Process support Manager, EDME, said:
“Our continued partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University has delivered another exciting round of R&D, fresh thinking, and hands-on innovation. Their talented students once again impressed us with their detailed poster presentations and selection of delicious baked samples. We’re excited to build on these insights and keep unlocking new ways to deliver versatility and value to our customers.”
Ginnie Winter, Programme Director BSc Food Science and Nutrition, Cardiff Metropolitan University, said:
“This project provided priceless experience for our students and valuable results for the business. Congratulations to our students for their outstanding work and thanks to EDME for all their time and effort.”
To find out more about Cardiff Met’s BSc (Hons) Food Science and Nutrition degree, visit here.
